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Chapter 6
In this chapter the stranded children are terrified after a dead pilot lands on the island during the night. They percieve it as a beast and explore the island searching for its lair. Summary The chapter begins with Samneric up on the mountain tending to the fire. They let the fire out which could be considered foreshadowing that something bad will happen. A dead pilot (a sign of what is happening in the outside world and a sense of death) floats down and arrives next to them. The two boys are then terrified because they think it is a beast and run to the other children. This panic then causes the children to explore the island looking for the 'beasts' lair. Jack suggests that it might be at a rock spit at one end of the island so they go there. Ralph is the only one brave enough to go on it which suggests his leadership. Once they realise that the land is clear then the other children come and push rocks. Ralph is once again disobeyed but the other children as he issues orders to go back to the other side of the island. Characters Ralph's spirit has not been defeated though, when he is alerted of a beast which lives upon the mountain by two biguns he trusts ('Samneric'), he knows that the beast must be disproven or destroyed once and for all. Not only could this beast ruin the sanity of the group but it also means that nobody is willing to cater for the signal fire. As such, he decides that he and the hunters should search for the beast. On the journey, the enmity between he and Jack seems to fade as they remember the original adventure which they went on. There is still quite an aggressive air between the two boys though, Jack, who is allowed to lead the group as Lead Hunter, seems to have some sort of power to prove to Ralph. He will accept any challenge and attempt to look as brave and strong as he can even when he originally doesn't want to go into a cave after Ralph. As usual, Ralph is the more sensible as he forces the group to continue their search rather than playing while Jack did not even consider that they were on a timescale. Samneric, the twins, are respected by Ralph and Piggy as the two finally began to doubt the nonexistance of a 'beastie' when Samneric say they saw it. These twins are not brave, nor do they try to be anything that they aren't as a lot of other biguns do. They are simple boys who here are terrified of a beast on the mountain; they decide that their lives come before fire duty. Simon and Piggy take fairly laid back jobs in this chapter with Piggy minding the littluns and Simon running back to tell Piggy that the hunters would not be returning until the following morning. Setting Samneric must have had a tough time on the mountain at night, in the isolation and darkness the tales of the 'beastie' must really sink in. The area is doubtlessly scary for them and when a 'beastie' is finally discovered, they don't feel like the area is safe enough to take a closer look. This lonely nature of the mountain is probably why is is fairly unpopular as a place to visit compared to the crowded beach that is less open. Although a fire is there, its orange glow probably doesn't add to the aesthetic of the area. On the journey to find the 'beastie', a new area of the beach is explored full of caves and rocks. This area is a lot of fun for boys wanting to roll rocks and just generally clamber around but is also the sort of area in which a beast would choose to live and as such probably isn't a viable location to live. In fact, only Ralph was able to get to it without hesitation so this area is almost a fortress; habitable and protected yet inhospitable and barren. Themes and Writing Style Freedom is a first theme revealed only to the reader in this chapter, as the children do not understand that the pilot is not a beast. The pilot is a symbol of escape and freedom and could be foreshadowing the boys' escape at the end of the book. But, the fact that he is dead (as mentioned later) shows that this escape will not be easy and that they may lose people along the way. However, contrasting this positive theme, death is also an obvious, and recurring theme throughout the book, and this is definately key in this chapter when the dead pilot lands on the island. It suggests that everything is not good and well on the island and that horrible events are going to occur. The signs and signals of death are the main method of foreshadowing in the book, and the arrival of the dead pilot shows that death is imminent. Loss of leadership is a final concept shown in this chapter as the other boys begin to neglect their duties. To begin Samneric let the fire out whilst they are sleeping. Although this is a minor detail, it shows that the boys do not see it as overly important and therefore signifies that Ralph's leadership is not as strong. In addition, when the pilot (or as they see 'the beast') lands near them, the terrified boys leave the area ignoring their instructions not to do so and to keep the fire going at all costs. This sense of disobedience is heightened by the fact that in the previous chapter Ralph scolded the boys for not doing so, and by running away they are directly going against his word. Conclusion and Final Comment Chapter 6 introduces the first real threat to the children on the island from the outside world. It is a symbol of hope to the reader, but to the children it is a dangerous beast which confirms their fears which they have developed in the previous chapters. This provides reason for arguements and sparks off a chain over events which are about to occur...